Stephen Singleton, who guided the Roosevelt boys basketball program to two CIF State championships and one CIF Southern Section title over his 10 seasons at the helm, has stepped down as the Mustangs’ coach.
The news was announced Thursday night in a press release from the Corona-Norco Unified School District.
“I just feel it’s the right time for this to happen,” Singleton said Thursday afternoon. “It’s not just one thing in particular, but a few things rolled together. I’ve been coaching for 25 years, and it’s time for me to honestly put my family first and have freedom to spend more time with them. My youngest (son) is just beginning to play sports, so it’s time to be dad and enjoy that. Burnout had a little to do with my decision, as well. It’s a grind to run a program like this on a daily basis, and I think mentally more than anything I needed to take a break.”
Singleton was a longtime assistant to the program’s first head coach, Romone Neal, and Singleton returned for the 2015-16 season as head coach. Singleton compiled a 237-71 record over 10 seasons with Roosevelt and led the program to four Big VIII League titles. Roosevelt claimed the CIF State Division I championship in 2018 and also captured CIF Southern Section and CIF State Open Division championships last season.
“First and foremost, I want to thank Romone Neal for bringing me here to Roosevelt in the first place. Without him, nothing that we’ve done the past 10 years would have been possible,” Singleton said. “I also want to thank my staff for the work and dedication they’ve shown to the program and our players over the years. The staff has been like a family and brotherhood, and we’ve worked together to help kids chase their dreams.
“My time at Roosevelt has been the biggest blessing of my coaching career. Being able to run my own program and be part of the build here at Roosevelt has been a dream come true. It’s been a great ride and probably greater than I ever could have imagined. In the end, however, it’s all about the young men who have played in our program and the relationships that have been made over the years that I’ll most remember.”
Singleton is among a small handful of boys basketball coaches to lead two programs to state championships. He was the interim coach at Dominguez for the 2001 season and guided the Dons to the Division II state title.
Roosevelt athletic director Jeff Stevens said a search for Singleton’s successor will begin immediately.
Singleton has not ruled out a return to coaching in the future.
“I’ll never close the door on anything, so I don’t want to say I’m never coaching again,” he said. “There are other opportunities I might look into, perhaps administration or coaching and scouting at the college level. But for now, I’m going to continue teaching and just see what other doors might open.”
